A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to expert systems and methods for decision making using computer-generated models of human decisional processes.
B. Background Art
Many systems have been proposed for use as "expert systems". Among there are Internist by Miller, Pople and Myers; Aesculapius by Shafer, Shafer, Foxlee, and Prost; and AQ11 by Michalski and Larson. These systems are "data driven", that is, they store and make decisions on the basis of values of individual data points. Analysis of these values allows the computer to apply explicitly programmed rules for decision making. In such programs, the relative importance of the various data points, termed weighting, is arrived at by statistical analysis of the data itself or by the application of probabilistic estimates supplied from human sources. None of these systems has the ability to: "learn" by watching the process of an expert decision-maker; function in more than one problem sphere without extensive reprogramming; emulate the decision-making processes of its teachers; or measure the logical significance of the information it learns to use in dealing with a specific problem.